Interbike Eight: Ellsworth to Colnago

How can you not love Sock Guy and its sense of humour?

Ellsworth Roots cyclocross bike

The intricate back end of the Ellsworth Englightenment, carbon 29er

Many Ellsworth bikes get a new curvier frame compared to the straight tubes of yesteryear. Strangely, we've seen other companies going back to more normally shaped tubes to save weight.

Ellsworth Glimpse - a complete bike for sale (in the US at least, we're not sure about the UK yet)

Sometimes carbon frames struggle to match the aesthetics of alloy tubes.

The oddly curved Ellsworth Enlightenment carbon 29er hardtail. It's not doing it for us, sorry.

All the colours of a funny rainbow...

Ergon grips - now available in cork.

Ernesto Colnago himself - he has a wicked comb-over...

Prototype Kenda tyre tread of their new 'Slant Six' style. A slightly knobbier Small Block Eight then.

Knog are pressing hard to become the darlings of the urban/fixie movement. Here's there very sleek new U-lock.

...and an equally smart cable and padlock.

Now there's no excuse for not being able to do up your Torx bolts. This tool from Genuine Innovations covers everything from tiny bleed port bolts to FSA chainring bolts.

A simple rubber sleeve, but one that easily slides onto the CO2 canister. Again from G-I.

A little excessive perhaps, but could be good for longer races - this Genuine Innovations mount can hold up to four gas cartridges securely; even if you've used a couple, the others won't rattle loose.

The mountain bike version of Genuine Innovations' Second Wind pump. The handle is the CO2 cartridge (full or empty) and the head can be used for hand pumping or CO2 inflation.

More jerseys and tees from Twin Six, who make a mean non-team jersey for those who want some colour, but don't want to be wearing bike company logos.

Great wet paint job from Vicious Cycles.

Not just a 'me too' bike - Vicious showed a snow bike back in 2001

One for the purists - a lugged, celeste painted Bianchi road bike.

And a flat bar town bike too...

Salsa will have a fat fork coming out for big tyres, complete with two bottle cage mounts (well, four - there are high and low options) along with rack mounts too.

If you've seen our Surly video - this is how the cheese board started life.

Salsa's ultra wide, 11degree bar wins the 'Singeltrack best handlebar name award' - the Whammy Bar.

Chrome has four new styles of shoes coming out, including a high-top and a more thermal (than usual) model.

It may not look exciting, but the Pedro's chain tool can cope with everything from BMX to Campag 11speed chains thanks to a revolving chuck and a well-supported driver pin.

A quirky tool from Pedro's is this quick release that includes a chain tool - so you need only carry your Allen keys on your road bike and you'll still be covered.

Version Three of the Pedro's toolkit. Which home mechanic doesn't want one? It now comes in a rugged, waterproof Peli-style case. Gone are the headset spanners, to be replaced by more relevant tools.

You have to be serious about your performance to justify some Ritchey carbon tubular wheels and Dugast tubs - but who doesn't want to run 20psi?

Adventure racers, cyclocrossers and trail cyclists are all after running shoes with cleats, or cycling shoes that you can run/walk in. Pearl Izumi makes a style for each side of that divide. Here's the 'running shoe with cleat' version.

A rather football-boot style of race shoe from Pearl Izumi. Pearl are now owned by Shimano (if you didn't know) and now share the same footwear factory.

Yes, these Pearl Izumi shorts really are THAT vented. Also available in black for those who don't live in a desert.

We saw a lot of tweed style fabrics being used for more casual looking cycling clothes.

Sometimes it pays to go home the long way from Dirt Demo. Here's Chipps in rare tourist mode.

Pearl Izumi is 60 - and had M&Ms made to celebrate...

Just to reassure those folk who were scared by the new Camelbak colours. They're still making 'normal' colours on their other bags.

Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

Comments (9)

doof_doofdoof_doof September 29, 2009 at 5:41 pm

It’s like they tried to make that Ellsworth carbon as fugly as possible. Job well done.

nickcnickc September 29, 2009 at 7:20 pm

Nasty tyre size, nasty paintwork, nasty tubes. Ticks all the niche boxes.

whippersnapperwhippersnapper September 29, 2009 at 7:51 pm

those Chrome shoes are Hogs from skateboarding yesteryear, happy days

aviemoronaviemoron September 29, 2009 at 7:52 pm

Mmmm, that Bianchi, I’ve got a soft spot for chromed lugs.

ooOOooooOOoo September 30, 2009 at 9:13 am

I genuinely like that Elsworth! But then they do call me Buster Gonad…
Did Singletrack see any wide, flat, CF, DH bars, in the bike world pipeline anywhere?

ChippsChipps September 30, 2009 at 9:31 am

Wide, flat CF DH bars? I can’t say I did. There’s the wide Salsa Whammy in 11deg with zero rise that’s an ‘all mountain’ bar and there’s the Race Face SixC in a low rise. There’s probably something out there if you’re that keen…

ooOOooooOOoo September 30, 2009 at 10:37 am

Thank you. Monkeylites are 710mm, SixC are 725mm….just need a little bit more

barneybarney September 30, 2009 at 1:04 pm

Mmmmmmmm
Tweeeeeeeeed 😀

summerwastinsummerwastin October 2, 2009 at 8:44 am

CO2 canisters… that’s got to be wrong hasn’t it?

Surely we can manage without them…….